Wire drawing die holder assembly



C. WALKER WIRE DRAWING DIE HOLDER ASSEMBLX oct. 17 1944.r

Filed Sept. 22, 1943 F'IE- 1- A INVENTORI (fm/af@ Wag/ff,

BYg /bftgw Patented Oct; l?, .1944

Chandler Walker, Newton Center, Mass.,

assignor to The American Steel and Wire Company of New Jersey,

a corporation of New Jersey Application September 22, 1943, Serial No. 50.3,415

2 Claims.

'I'his invention relates to wire drawing, die holder assemblies of the type used to hold the ilnishing die through whichl the drawn wire exits through the casing of a continuous wire drawing machine for the purpose of providing both a iinishing draft andtpreventing loss of the die coolant splashing around inside the casing. Heretofore, die holder assembliesv of this type have been characterized by the disadvantage. of requiring their complete removal and disassembly from the casing when it was necessary to inspect or change the die and during threading-up of the machine, the object of the present inventor being to provide a holder'obviating this disadvantage.

A specific example of the invention is illustrated by the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1` shows the invention in use; Figure 2 shows the front;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal section taken from.

the line III- III in Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is-a detail. Y VMore specifically, this drawing shows a die holder assembly comprising a ball I and a neck 2, forming a unit, a hole 3 being bored through both longitudinally vof the neck with a counterbore 4 in the neck for receiving the die 5 to a depth not much greater than .the length of thel die, a releasable fastener'S being provided for fastenng'the dienxin the counterbore. Formerly the counterbore extended deep' into the neck 2 and the die was positioned by an apertured screw screwed into the counterbore on top of the die, so when the die had to be removed,rthe entire assembly had to `be removed from the casing of the continuous wire drawing machine since there was no other way to dislodge the die fromV the counterbore.

For the benefit oi' those unfamiliar with the length of wire the assembly must be readiusted for the purpose of realigning the die with the wire. All this is obviated by the present invention since the die may be easily removed from the counterbore 4 due to its shallow depth.

Continuing. the end ofthe neck has a transverse slot 'l extending through the'counterbore 4 and giving access to the side of the die to facilitate its removal uponv release of theV fastener 6. Thus, in case the die becomes stuck in y the die holder, it is possible to use a tool to eiect its dislodgement.

The fastenerj is in the form of a ilat metal strip having a roughened surface 8 resting parallel, longitudinally, on the outside of the neck -with a thumb screw 9, passed through a longitudinal slot in the strip, fastening it thereto, this strip having an inwardly bent outer end 8a overlyingithe outside end of the die 5.

A further' feature Vof the new holder isthat the neck portion 2a, having the'counterbore 4, is separate from the remainder ofgthe neck, which is integral with the ball I, and is releasablyl .fastened thereto by having a threaded-end 2b screwed into a threaded counterbore 2c in the remainder of the neck 2` integrally joined with the ball I. This is of advantage should extreme difiieulty be experienced in dislodging the die 5 in spite of itsaccessibility since, without removing-the entire unit, it is possible to unscrew the neck portion 2a and remove it from the machines casing so that the die can be at'- tacked more vigorously When 'a new die is replaced in the unscrewed neck portion with the wire threaded through this die, the. wire may then be 'passed through the hole through the integrally joined neckvportion 2 and ballV I and use of this type of assembly it might be best to explain at this time that the casing of the continuous wire drawing machine has a socketA in which one end ofthe ball I sits for universal action and a nut which screws over the ball I and which contains a socket for fitting the ball I at the other end thereof, the ball being thereby retained in the casing. The universal action obtained by this arrangement is necessary because the die must be carefully aligned with the natural traveling path of the wire being drawn I through thedie, and this makes it particularly objectionable to have to remove the entire assembly, this meaning, for instance, ythat Yeach time the machine is threaded-up to draw a new the end portion 2a screwed back to complete the assembly, all without realignment ofthel die since the ball I has not been moved Vrespecting its association with the casing. Of course, the same thing prevails when the die 'is simply plucked from the counterbore 4 without unscrewing the neckapart, which is a practicable procedure excepting when the die becomes too firmly stuck. n Y

I claim:

1. A wire drawing die holder assembly cornprising a ball and neck unit having va hole Y through both longitudinally of the neck with a counterbore in the neck for receiving the die to a depth notmuch greater than its length and a releasable fastener for fastening the dieV inl the counterbore, the end of the neck having a transverse slot extending through the counterbore and giving access to the side of the' die to facilitate its removal upon release of the fastener, the latter being in the form of a flat metal strip resting'parallel longitudinally on the outside of the neck with a screw fastening it thereto and an inwardly bent outer end overlying the outside end of the die.

2. A wire drawing die holder assembly comprising a ball and neck unit having a hole through both longitudinally of theneck with a counterbore in the neck for receiving the die to a depth not much greater than its length and a releasable fastener for fastening the die in the counterbore, the neck `portion having the longitudinally on the Voutside of the neck with a screw fastening it thereto and an inwardly bent outer end overlying the outside end of the die.

CHANDLER WAIKER. 

